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As a consummate crossover artist, Onalea's original work is a unique blend of music and the theatrical. As a performer she has worked in both the traditional and the avant-garde playing roles on the stage, screen, and in cartoons. An accomplished vocalist, she has sung with everything from solo piano to chamber ensembles, symphony orchestras, and big bands. She has recorded four CD's ranging from big band to jazz standards, electronica to original material.

As a theatre artist Onalea has performed numerous roles across Canada, including 7 seasons as an ensemble member with the award-winning Canadian physical performance theatre company One Yellow Rabbit, creating many original characters and starring as Sylvia Plath in Sylvia Plath Must Not Die. Additionally, Onalea has co-created and performed several shows as an actor, singer and puppeteer, with symphony orchestras internationally as a part of Dandi productions - a company formed with Canadian Colleague Doug McKeag.

Work in progress is TORCH SONGS FROM THE GYPSY VAN a love story with Jazz and String quartet which will be recorded as an album in the winter of 2019.

Onalea is interested in using the Arts as a tool for conversation, education and social change and has been integrating Social Justice into her artistic practice for 10 years. Projects include: Onalea’s original piece Requiem For A Lost Girl: A Chamber Musical about Homelessness ( High Performance Rodeo (Calgary), New York Musical Theatre Festival, Vancouver Opera Festival (May 2018); directing What brought us here - a new work for Calgary Opera about immigration, integrating the Sudanese, Bosnian and Iranian communities; DI wedding: The musical (curated original writings about love and relationship with the Calgary Drop In Centre), The Eviction of Stuart Block (live radio play in co-production with the Mustard seed Shelter- High Performance Rodeo, Calgary) and the Out of the Blue review (This is my city arts Society).

Onalea has taught writing & singing classes and engaged in community building with the following shelters while working on the REQUIEM PROJECT:

Calgary Drop In Centre (North America’s largest homeless shelter), Calgary Woman’s Centre, Henry Street Settlement Shelter , Fountain House (NYC); Covenant house youth crisis shelter (NYC) and The Kettle Society (Vancouver, BC). She has worked in schools as a part of the Galliano Network in Calgary and as a director through Calgary Opera’s “Let’s create on opera”.

Currently she is traveling across North America to find out what's happening in the homeless community in the areas of Arts, advocacy, outreach and activism as a member of the international organization With One Voice (a new international movement that aims to strengthen the arts and homelessness sector through exchanges in practice and policy). Onalea is also working to bring her Requiem project to as many communities as possible in order to co create theatre, writing and music workshops that lead to original material and conversations that shed light on the stigma surrounding the areas of homelessness, poverty, missing and murdered women, mental health concerns and addiction.

Onalea is working on two album projects this fall/winter 2018/2019. A solo recording project of torch, cabaret & originals and an album with her partner visual artist and creator/performer Bruce Horak supporting their new duo The Rail Birds.